1. locale, environs. Environment,milieu,ambiance,setting,surroundings all refer to what makes up the atmosphere or background against which someone or something is seen. Environment may refer either to actual physical surroundings or to social or cultural background factors: an environment of crime and grinding poverty.Milieu, encountered most often in literary writing, refers to intangible aspects of the environment: an exhilarating milieu of artistic ferment and innovation.Ambiance applies to the atmosphere of the surroundings, their mood or tone: an ambiance of ease and elegance.Setting suggests a background that sets something off: a perfect setting for the emerald.Surroundings alludes specifically to the physical aspects of the environment: awoke in strange surroundings; blend in with her surroundings.

environment

n.

c.1600, "state of being environed" (see environ + -ment); sense of "nature, conditions in which a person or thing lives" first recorded 1827 (used by Carlyle to render German Umgebung); specialized ecology sense first recorded 1956.

environment en·vi·ron·ment (ěn-vī'rən-mənt, -vī'ərn-)n. The totality of circumstances surrounding an organism or group of organisms, especially the combination of external physical conditions that affect and influence the growth, development, and survival of organisms.

(ěn-vī'rən-mənt) All of the biotic and abiotic factors that act on an organism, population, or ecological community and influence its survival and development. Biotic factors include the organisms themselves, their food, and their interactions. Abiotic factors include such items as sunlight, soil, air, water, climate, and pollution. Organisms respond to changes in their environment by evolutionary adaptations in form and behavior.